We drove through to Jeanie's owners after work to collect her. Very excited to meet her, we had purchased a blue collar a matching lead, some puppy food and a toy. When we arrived we were met by her owners and invited inside. This was to be our first meeting. There she was, in the sitting room on the lap of one of the family members. She barked at us and got all excited. She had no idea what was going on, but didn't like us in her territory and threatening her family! She soon calmed down and kept casting a suspicious glance at us while we chatted to the owners. We noticed her red squeaky toy shoe, she loved to play with it and it squeaked every time she bit it. Then the daughter brought Jeanie to us and she sat on Rich's lap. She seemed uncomfortable at first, but eventually curiosity got the better of her and soon she was sniffing both of us cautiously. Eventually we had to go. We exchanged e-mail addresses and promised to keep in touch with regards to Jeanie's progress. We let the family say good bye to her and then I put on her brand new collar. She had never worn a collar before and found this very strange indeed. I carried her outside to the car and made myself comfortable in the front seat. We had put a blanket down for her at my feet. Rich packed her basket, teddy and blanket in the boot and we left. She was very uneasy and the confident expression left her face and turned to one of fear and uncertainty . On the journey to her new home, she preferred to snuggle on my lap instead of sitting at my feet. She somehow felt more secure that way. We arrived at Rich's parents house and put on her lead. It was time to introduce her to Bismark, a docile twelve year old German Shepherd cross Husky. Biz as we called him, was very puzzled as to why he was going for a walk so late at night as he had his lead on. He was standing sniffing the air curiously. Jeanie was reluctant to leave the car, but I picked her up and put her down. She hadn't seen Biz yet and started to get some confidence back. We trotted down the path to the house. Mother Free had come to meet the new addition and then Jeanie spotted Biz. She went berserk! And Biz ran away! She barked and barked and Biz hid behind Rich's legs. Rich eventually took Jeanie and Biz into the garden and walked them up and down. Jeanie calmed down and Rich brought them back. We sat outside for a bit. Jeanie was calm and friendly to us, but the minute Biz came for some attention, she would bark again with the fur on her back raised. She was very cheeky and even went to bite him. Biz got all huffy and went into the garden to hide. We called him back and gave each of them a bone to chew and a bowl of food. This helped things.
After both dogs had calmed down to a mild panic and we had given each of them some affection we decided it was time to turn in. Rich and I decided to sleep over to tend to Jeanie during the night. We set up her basked in the entrance hall and boarded up the entrance to the passage. She heard Biz sniffing outside and barked at him. She had established the entrance hall as her territory now and he was not allowed! After an assertive shush from Rich she soon settled and slept right though the night.
In the morning Rich went to her basket and picked up a very sleepy but very cute Jeanie. He brought her to me and we both cuddled her. She was quite content to stay cradled in Rich’s arms while we showered her with affection. It was time to go out for her to do her business. She was very good all night. No sooner had she finished, she spotted Biz and the barking frenzy started. Poor Biz was only there to get his breakfast, but she had upset him and he returned to his hiding spot hungry. This was very unusual for Biz, the great lover of all things edible and Mother Free had to take his food to him and feed him with a spoon!
